Culminating Costs: Historic Calgary hailstorm now estimated at $3.25 billion in insured losses, says CatIQ

Calgary, Alberta — The record-breaking hailstorm that took place in Calgary, Alta., last August is now estimated to have cost $3.25 billion in insured losses, says a new report from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).

Listed as the second-most expensive disaster in Canadian history, the hailstorm resulted in more than 130,000 individual insurance claims.

In its recent report CatIQ, alongside a supplementary report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) further notes that despite extensive damage, over the past six months, insurers in the area have made progress in helping affected residents recover and rebuild.

Notably, the reports indicate that when it comes to the automotive sector, the majority of auto insurance claims—which originally represented more than half of all claims from the storm—have now been completed.

In total, insured damage to vehicles is now estimated to be in the billion dollar range so that roughly half of the vehicles affected were write-offs.

“While the storm itself was not unusually severe for the region, the extent of the damage and the scale of the industry loss total reflect how the distance of a few kilometres in the track can result in tremendous loss differences when it comes to severe convective storm. There was nothing apparent about the storm from a meteorological standpoint to suggest it would result in one of the costliest events in Canadian history,” said Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ, in the organization’s report.

“The insurance industry experienced a record loss year in Canada in 2024 and, while the majority of those losses stemmed from four events in July and August, of the year’s twelve total events, one quarter involved hail damage – an important reminder of the industry’s exposure to this peril. In the past five years, CatIQ has declared 30 catastrophes relating to hail with losses exceeding CAD 30 million, accounting together for more than CAD 8 billion in insured losses for the industry.”

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